Apple CEO sees more 'gamechangers'; hints at wearable devices

May 28, 2013|Reuters

By Alexei Oreskovic

RANCHOS PALOS VERDES, Calif., May 28 (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Wednesday he expectsthe iPhone and iPad maker would be responsible for "several moregamechangers" and that wearable computers could be the next bigthing.

"It's an area where it's ripe for exploration," Cook told anAll Things Digital conference, an annual gathering of technologyand media executives in the California coastal resort town ofRancho Palos Verdes.

"It's ripe for us all getting excited about. I think therewill be tons of companies playing in this."

His remarks come at a time when worries are mounting thatthe company which created the smartphone and tablet markets isno longer at the top of its game, with a slowdown in earningsgrowth hitting its share price.

Cook stopped short of saying if Apple was working onwearable products, but added that wearable computers had to becompelling and that Google Inc's Glass -- a crossbetween a mobile computer and eyeglasses that can both recordvideo and surf the Internet -- is likely to have only limitedappeal.

"There's nothing that's going to convince a kid who hasnever worn glasses or a band or a watch to wear one, or at leastI haven't seen it," he said. "So I think there's lots of thingsto solve in this space."

Cook also said he has a "grand vision" for television thatgoes beyond an existing $99 Apple TV streaming device, but didnot go into details. The company has maintained for years thatit harbors an interest in the TV arena.

When asked if Apple has lost its cool, Cook said "absolutelynot" and went on to list statistics of device sales and usage.He, however, acknowledged that he was frustrated with the suddendownturn in the firm's stock price.

Since hitting a record close of $702.10 last September, theworld's largest technology company has shed 44 percent, losingmore than $280 billion of market value - or more than the entiremarket capitalization of Google.

In April, Apple reported its first quarterly profit declinein over a decade and was also shunned by some well-known fundmanagers in the first quarter, with John Griffin's Blue RidgeCapital selling off its shares and Chase Coleman's Tiger GlobalManagement sharply cutting their position.

Cook has tried to reset heightened expectations around acompany and he has stressed that the company's position remains strong and has opened up more of its treasure trove toinvestors, doubling its cash return program to $100 billion bythe end of 2015.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hasfound that Apple in 2012 avoided paying $9 billion in U.S.taxes, using a strategy involving three offshore units with nodiscernible tax home, or "residence".

But Cook, in his first congressional testimony sincebecoming Apple CEO in 2011, said his company is a majortaxpayer, handing over nearly $6 billion in cash to the U.S.government in 2012.

Referring to the testimony, Cook said he felt strongly aboutthe conclusions the subcommittee arrived at.

"So I thought it was very important to go tell our story andto view that as an opportunity instead of a pain in the ass."